“Crikey!”

I heard a father lamenting the tragic death of Steve Irwin. He was talking about having to console his son and how his son was so devastated. It seemed so dramatic and I was having a hard time relating. I could sympathize with the loss. It was tragic, shocking and sudden. For a moment though, to me, it was just another sad ending in the news. And then I thought about all the kids that grew up watching him. All the kids who dreamed of being him when they grew up. And, I remembered.

I remembered being a kid filled with dreams. Thinking that I could be anything (and I really planned on being it all – astronaut, singer, teacher, writer, dolphin trainer and president of the United States). Then, January 28, 1986, changed the way I looked at things. The death of the Challenger crew brought the dark side of life to my otherwise innocent eyes. It was unnerving and scary. It made me see that things have a beginning and an end. It also made me a little fearful of the sky. I am not an astronaut today and I don’t know if that one incident shaped everything. But I wonder.

So, to the kids who dream of being a Crocodile Hunter when they grow up, keep dreaming – emulate all that Steve Irwin was in life – adventurous, conscientious, respectful, unafraid (but cautious), exuberant, jovial, a lover of all living things, a true friend and family man and a loving soul. He would want to be honored in that way. He would want you to reach for the stars!